BL 6-inch Gun Mk XIX
|used_by= |wars=World War I, World War II |designer= |design_date= |manufacturer=Vickers |prod_date= |type=Heavy field gun |date= |service=1916 - 1940 |caliber= 6 in (152 mm) |part_length=35 calibres |carriage=Wheeled, box trail |breech=Welin interrupted screw with Asbury mechanism |rate= |velocity= Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 146 |cartridge=HE |ammo_wt= |range= |max_range= (2 crh shell); (4 crh shell); (6 crh shell) |recoil=Hydro pneumatic, variable |elevation=0° to 38° |traverse=4° L & R |weight=10,248 lb (4,684 kg) (gun & breech) 10 tons 3½ cwt (10,340 kg) (total) |length= |crew= |number=310 }} The 'BL 6 inch Gun Mk XIX'I.e. Mark 19 : Britain at the time designated Marks (models) of ordnance using Roman numerals. This was a field gun and field ordnance normally used a different Mark series to naval ordnance, but unusually the next available Mark number in the 6-inch naval gun series was used, rather than Mark I as the first 6-inch BL field gun. was introduced in 1916 as a lighter and longer-range field gun replacement for the obsolescent BL 6 inch Gun Mk VII. History, description The gun was designed and built by Vickers specifically as a field gun, unlike its predecessors which originated as naval guns. Its length was reduced from the 45 calibres of its naval gun predecessors, to 35 calibres, to reduce weight and improve mobility. It utilized the modern carriage and recoil mechanism of the BL 8 inch Howitzer Mk 6. The gun barrel was of wire-wound construction: "The gun body is of steel and consists of tubes, a series of layers of steel wire, jacket, breech bush and breech ring".Handbook of artillery, United States. Army. Ordnance Dept, May 1920, page 245 "The breech mechanism is operated by means of a lever on the right side of the breech. On pulling the lever to the rear the breech screw is automatically unlocked and swung into the loading position. After loading, one thrust of the lever inserts the breech screw and turns it into the locked position. The breech mechanism is similar to that used on the 8 inch howitzers both in design and operation". Operational history British service 310 were built during World War IClarke 2005, page 40 and the gun served in all theatres, with 108 being in service on the Western front at the end of World War I, but it did not completely replace the Mk VII gun until the end of the war. 3 batteries served with the BEF in France early in World War II, and others were deployed in the home defence of Britain. The gun was superseded by the 155-mm Gun M1, and the carriages used for howitzers.Nigel F Evans, BRITISH ARTILLERY IN WORLD WAR 2. THE GUNS US Service "Handbook of artillery" of May 1920 stated that : "The original British ammunition so closely resembled the American that it was decided to use the US regular Mark II high-explosive shell... the propellant charge will consist of a base section and increment section having a total weight of approximately 25 pounds".Handbook of artillery, May 1920, page 277 Brazil service in Rio de Janeiro.]] Brazil purchased these guns from USA in 1940 for coastal defense. South African service Prior to the outbreak of World War II there were plans to use these guns in the fortification of Durban, Cape Town and Saldanha Bay. For a short period, two guns were deployed for the protection of Port Elizabeth harbour at the outbreak of World War II. Surviving examples ]] ]] * A gun bought by Brazil from USA in 1940 is displayed at the Brazilian Army museum, Copacabana. * A Mark XIX mounted on a Mark XIII carriage can be seen at the South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg. * The Apostle Battery in Hout Bay, South Africa has another on display. * A gun on display at Signal Hill, Cape Town, South Africa. Image gallery File:BL-6_inch_Gun-Mk_19-Sights-001.jpg| Sights used when mounted on a Mark XIII traversing carriage File:6inchMkXIXGunLeftView.jpg| Diagram showing left elevation File:6inchMkXIXGunPlan.jpg| Diagram showing plan File:BL 6 inch HE Gun Shell Mk XVI Diagram.jpg| British Mk XVI HE shell, WWI See also * List of field guns Weapons of comparable role, performance and era * Canon de 155mm GPF French equivalent * 15 cm Kanone 16 German equivalent Notes and references Bibliography *I.V. Hogg & L.F. Thurston, British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. London: Ian Allan, 1972. ISBN 978-0-7110-0381-1 *Dale Clarke, British Artillery 1914-1919. Heavy Artillery. Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2005 ISBN 978-1-84176-788-8 *Handbook of artillery : including mobile, anti-aircraft and trench matériel (1920). United States. Army. Ordnance Dept, May 1920 External links *Per Finsted, Om den engelske 6-tommers feltkanon 1914-1940 (in Danish) Category:World War II artillery of the United Kingdom Category:World War I artillery of the United Kingdom Category:World War I guns Category:152 mm artillery Category:Vickers